Song of the Piper
by pyschogambitable
Summary: Scorned by Gotham, Victor Rayne, seeks his revenge by kidnapping the children of Gotham. With an army of giant rats at his disposal, and hypnotizing melody on his lips, will he succeed in using the children to get his ultimate revenge?


A/N: A few things here. This is set in a future Gotham - a time where Dick Grayson is no longer in university (or college... I always forget what he was doing). In this story, Selina and Bruce are married, as are Barbara and Dick. I'm going to do my best to keep the Joker as much in character as possible, anytime I stray I will be looking to the readers to give me a hand on where to improve. I'm a bit new to Batman fanfiction -I have read a few but never attempted one- and have recently got back into the Caped Crusader after rewatching the 90s cartoon. This idea has been brewing in my mind ever since watching "_Mad As A Hatter_" and I really hope you enjoy it.

Despite this idea being in my head for a while, and not leaving even when I want to work on something else, I have yet to decide on a title. So far I've considered: _Piper's Plague_, _Song of the Piper_, or simply, _Pied Piper's Revenge_. I'll be open to suggestions, though I think I am leaning towards _Song of the Piper_.

Now on with the story!

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><p>Thunder clapped as the rain pelted down at all angles, covering the earth in a thick layer of water. People rushed from the shelter of the buildings to waiting taxis or their parked vehicles. Only four people seemed unperturbed by the bad weather. Two were tall men, one with a black mask covering his eyes and his black hair pasted to his dripping face; the other a full black, bat-like mask. The other two were both women, one sporting a similar look to the fully masked man, the other having a costume similar to a cat. They watched over the city with unblinking eyes, waiting for what ever dangers lurked in the shadows.<p>

"Batman, hun," Catwoman purred, "I don't think anyone is going to be pulling anything in this."

"Hate to say it boss, but I agree with the Mrs," Batgirl said jokingly, "besides, I don't like leaving Robbie home alone for so long."

"If you need to get home, Batman and I can finish up here," said Nighthawk, kindly, "whoever is crazy enough to come out in this will be nothing that he and I can't handle."

"If you think I'm going to start missing out on the action, you've got another thing coming mister." Batgirl turned on Nighthawk with a scowl on her face; what did he take her for? A stay at home mom? please.

"Quiet," Batman ordered, his eyes locked on the streets, where unusual movement was taking place. He narrowed his eyes, knowing instantly that this was what they had been waiting for. "Batgirl, you come with me. Catwoman, you go with Nighthawk. Let's finish this up quickly so that we can all get out of the rain."

"Come on Bird-Boy," the formerly villainous Catwoman barked, taking off along the rooftops with Nighthawk at her heels. He had been about to retort to her old "nickname" for him, but the thunder, and her hasty take off, had cut him off.

Batman readied his grappling hook, with a swift nod to Batgirl, they shot off towards the streets.

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><p>"Oh, my sweet little baby-girl," cooed Harley, hugging a little baby with a light blonde tuft on her head. She swung the infant around a few times. "You're completely safe here, Bat-for-brains will never know about you. He'll never, ever take you from me." She touched her nose gently to hers, a small eskimo kiss, earning a giggle from the baby.<p>

From a distance she could hear the faint sounds of an explosion. "Huh, no doubt that no-good Batman's up to his old games. You'd never imagine all the trouble he gave Mistah J and your dear mommy. Wonder which one of our friend's he's throwing in Arkham tonight." She skipped over to the crib located in the TV room. It was a single story house near the outskirts of the city; out of the way and inconspicuous. Placing the child in the crib, she sat down on the pull-out couch, flipping on the TV to see the outcome of that explosion. A part of her hoped that a familiar pale faced, green haired man wouldn't be shown on screen; another part did.

Turning the volume down low, she watched the black and white pictures flash across the screen; the news wouldn't be on for another few minutes, so she'd have to make do with the trashy late night show. She propped her feet up across the sleeping bodies of her beloved pets, Bud and Lou. As she was just getting comfortable, a knock came to her door. She hesitated before standing up; the only person who knew where she was was Poison Ivy, and she had a key to the house so she wouldn't knock. If it were Mistah J, she would be in big trouble, after leaving without so much as a word just under a year ago; but if it were the cops, she would have a one-way trip to Arkham, leaving her poor baby in the hands of a stranger. And that was not allowed.

Another knock, it sounded more impatient than the first. Her gaze went to the back door; could she get out unnoticed? A third knock swiftly followed the second and was louder than the others. She got up, walking uneasily towards the door her beloved hyenas following protectively behind her. She fumbled with the chain lock; the mix of the thunder, lightning and the pounding on the door was unnerving. Every instinct was telling her to grab her baby and run; but her curiosity regarding who was at her door overpowered those. With a deep breath, she turned the handle and swung the door open.

Like a scene from a horror movie, the lightning flashed at the perfect moment illuminating the hallway behind her and casting the eerie silhouette of her visitor across the house. A frightened gasp escaped her lips, her torn feelings coming back with a vengeance. Part of her wanted to jump into the arms of the man before her, the other, more sane part, was screaming at her to run.

"Well, well, so this is where you've been hiding," the Joker smirked, inviting himself into the house.

"Puddin'," she put the cheeriest expression she could manage on her face, though it turned into a real look of happiness at the knowledge that he had been looking for her, "you were looking for me?"

With that look in her eyes, the Joker knew he had her hooked again. He knew what she wanted to hear, that of course he was looking for her. That of course he missed her. The truth was, out of all his henchmen, she was the most tolerable -mostly because she wasn't a complete idiot and got most of his jokes. "Of course pumpkin," he lied through his yellow teeth, "I couldn't imagine going another day without my Harley."

"Oh Mistah J!" the clown woman squealed, hugging him tightly, "I always knew you cared!" Her original fears were completely gone, though her instincts were still telling her not to let her guard down. Her overpowering devotion to the man before her made her continue to ignore it. Bud and Lou were now happily greeting the Joker, well Lou was. Bud had ventured back into the TV room, checking on the mini-mistress as he tended to do. He didn't know what it was about the tiny human, but his mommy was very attached to her so he figured it was his and Lou's job to protect her.

"Now the question remains, why are you here?" he asked, there was threatening glint in his eyes. Considering her absence, she had better have a damn good reason for up and leaving him for almost a year.

Harley paled at the question, the one she had been dreading. "Well, ya see Puddin'... the answer to that is a bit complicated." She nervously glanced towards the TV; the thunder was starting to subside which she was a bit grateful for. For some reason, the calming storm made her a little easier about the presence of her boss... er... former boss. The news reel of the earlier events had begun to roll, starting with the explosion she had heard earlier.

It was louder coming from her tiny TV speakers than hearing the real one from her house; the sudden loud noise after so much silence startling the sleeping child into the realm of the awake.

Harley forgot the danger she was in in a heartbeat, leaving a confused -and slightly disappointed- Joker standing in the hall as she rushed to the side of her sobbing child. "It's alright, my poor baby, the scary noises are all gone," she soothed in a baby voice. The scene had changed to the commissioner giving his report on what had happened.

"Harls, what is that?" hissed the Joker, glaring into the room. He wasn't stupid he knew _what_ it was, what he really wanted to know was what was it doing _here_.

Harley's fear returned tenfold at the Joker's tone. In an instant he had stopped being "Puddin'" and "Mistah J", and became the terrifying Joker. "Umm, you see... she's the complication."

The Joker was seeing red, if that no account Boxy thought he could get away with touching _his_ things -especially while she was still with _him_- he had another thing coming to him. He'd deal with Boxy later, right now he had to take of that little nuisance.

"What are you doing Mistah J?" asked Harley innocently as the Joker stalked over to her. Her voice was shaking, in the back of her mind she knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Just taking care of a little problem," he grinned sadistically, "you should know by now that I don't like sharing. So, tell me how did little _Boxy Bennett _do it, huh? How did he take you from under my nose?" The name left a horrible taste in his mouth after he had spat it out between clenched teeth.

Now it was Harley's turn to be confused, "I don't know what you're talking about Puddin'. I haven't seen Boxy since Batman and Bird-Boy gave him the beat down last year." It had been during one of their "breaks" and though she had seen him, it was more because she had been passing by when Batman had jumped him for some drug thing he was involved in. "He's been in jail ever since."

The Joker paused in his advances. It wasn't Boxy's? He tried to list names of criminals who tried to have a go at his Harley, but aside from Boxy and the Creeper -the later of which he knew Harley would never go for- he drew blanks.

"Ya really can't figure it out, huh Mistah J?" Harley was genuinely surprised that the Joker was so stumped by it, when the answer was so clear. "I've been hidin' Val from ya, since I know that ya wouldn't like the noise... and I wasn't sure how ya would take it... I figured I'd just wait a couple of years, when she was all grown, and come back ready for duty." She didn't know why she was explaining it all, like it would make a difference.

The Joker seemed to catch on to what she was getting at, but instead of fueling his anger, he broke down into a fit of laughter. His insane chortles echoing through the small house; Harley wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad.

"Hmm, an apprentice I can train from the very beginning," the Joker finally said, as his laughter died, "Harley, my dear, you never cease to amaze me." It was the first truthful thing he had said all evening.

Harley sighed with relief, little Valerie Quinn had the Joker's approval.

* * *

><p>At first glance, there was nothing unusual about the rock formation, located well outside of Gotham. It wasn't until one took the time to wonder about its shape that began to reveal the truth; it was a man made structure. Made to hide the experiments of a mad-man from the prying eyes of the world. The laboratory wasn't much to look at. A few specimen cages, bunson burners, test tubes, vials etc. everything that one would expect to find. But then, off to the side, there was the makings a costume, it wasn't complete and from what was there it was hard to determine what it was suppose to be. Granted, all that had been completed were the pants and a hat, but it still didn't give much away.<p>

On a small table closest to the costume, lay different electronics and the schematics for a device in the shape of a pan pipe, with a real one laying among the screws and metal scrapes.

Glancing out a paned window, a strange man glared at the distant sky-scrapers that belonged to the city of Gotham. The storm had long passed, and yet a piece of him still hoped that an god-like lightning bolt would strike the city and blow it to smithereens. He picked up the sterile syringe and continued his work, drawing a purple liquid out of a test-tube.

"This should do it," he cackled to himself. With a gloved hand, he reached into a nearby cage, pulling out one of many regular brown sewer rats. Holding it just below its front legs, he injected the liquid into its blood stream. He watched it writhe in pain in his clutched hands for a moment, imagining the small rodent as one of his foes, before placing it in a separate cage, away from its "normal" brethren.

If this batch worked, he would be one step closer to orchestrating his plan to get his revenge on Gotham. He rubbed his hands together greedily, he would get his revenge on the city, its mayor -and most importantly- on Batman.


End file.
